2026 British Touring Car Championship

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The 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (commonly abbreviated as BTCC) will be a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship will feature a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2026 season will be the 69th British Touring Car Championship season, the 16th season for cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) technical specification.

Contents

This is the second season using 100% renewable fuels, with the hybrid boost being removed and being replaced with turbo boost. While the amount of power boost stayed the same the weight will be reduced by 55 kg (121 lb). In another change to the 2026 season will introduce qualifying races for all cars on the Saturday afternoon of each race weekend. [1] [2]

Teams and drivers

TeamCarEngineNo.DriversRounds
Constructor Entries
Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance Hyundai/Swindon3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Chilton [3] TBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport [4] Toyota Corolla GR Sport Toyota/Neil Brown40 Flag of Ireland.svg Árón Taylor-Smith [5] TBC
52 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gordon Shedden [6] TBC
Speedworks Motorsport [7] TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
Alliance Racing [7] TBATBATBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
Plato Racing Team RML [8] TBATBATBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
West Surrey Racing [7] BMW 330i M Sport LCI BMW/Neil BrownTBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
Independent Entries
One Motorsport [9] [7] Honda Civic Type R (FK8) TOCA/M-Sport TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
Power Maxed Racing [10] Audi S3 Saloon TOCA/SwindonTBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
Restart Racing [7] Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance Hyundai/SwindonTBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
Un-Limited Motorsport [7] Cupra León TOCA/M-Sport TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
TBAFlag of none.svg TBATBC
Key
Eligible for the Jack Sears Trophy for drivers yet to record more than one outright podium
finish or Jack Sears Trophy championship at the start of the season.

Entering/re-entering BTCC

Changed teams

Both Árón Taylor-Smith and Gordon Shedden moved from Toyota Gazoo Racing to Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport. [5] [6]

Leaving BTCC

Jake Hill announced prior to Brands Hatch that he would leave Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport and the BTCC entirely. [11]

Nick Halstead left the BTCC after competing with Power Maxed Racing in 2025. [12]

Team changes

Jason Plato entered a team with the support of RML, creating Plato Racing Team RML. [8]

Power Maxed Racing dropped the Cupra Leon, which they ran for the last 4 rounds of 2025, for the Audi S3 Saloon along with expanding to 3 cars for the first time since 2022. [7] [10]

Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport expanded their field to 2 cars and switched from the BMW 330i to a pair of Toyota Corolla. [4]

Race calendar

The 2026 calendar was announced on 2 May 2025. [13]

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2026 BTCC Race Locations
RoundCircuitDate
1R1 Donington Park
(National Circuit, Leicestershire)		18–19 April
R2
R3
2R4 Brands Hatch
(Indy Circuit, Kent)		9–10 May
R5
R6
3R7 Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit
(300 Circuit, Norfolk)		24–25 May
R8
R9
4R10 Oulton Park
(Island Circuit, Cheshire)		6–7 June
R11
R12
5R13 Thruxton Circuit
(Hampshire)		25–26 July
R14
R15
6R16 Knockhill Racing Circuit
(Fife)		8–9 August
R17
R18
7R19 Donington Park
(Grand Prix Circuit, Leicestershire)		22–23 August
R20
R21
8R22 Croft Circuit
(North Yorkshire)		5–6 September
R23
R24
9R25 Silverstone Circuit
(National Circuit, Northamptonshire)		26–27 September
R26
R27
10R28 Brands Hatch
(Grand Prix Circuit, Kent)		10–11 October
R29
R30

References

  1. ↑ "BTCC introduces Qualifying race from 2026". btcc.net. 24 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  2. ↑ "BTCC Qualifying Race regulations ratified". btcc.net. 24 November 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "Tom Chilton extends BTCC deal with EXCELR8 into 2026". TouringCarTimes. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport launch two-car programme for 2026 season". btcc.net. 23 November 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Three-time BTCC champion Gordon Shedden joins Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport for 2026". btcc.net. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Three-time BTCC Champion Gordon Shedden Joins Laser Tools Racing With MB Motorsport For 2026". btcc.net. 27 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Plato Racing confirmed for 2026 season as BTCC announces TBL list". TouringCarTimes. 4 December 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Plato Racing confirms expected RML tie-up". TouringCarTimes. 21 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "One Motorsport to miss remainder of the season as focus switches to 2026". TouringCarTimes. 26 August 2025. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Power Maxed Racing to run Audi S3 Saloons from 2026". TouringCarTimes. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Jake Hill To Depart Laser Tools Racing With MB Motorsport And The BTCC • BTCC". 2025-09-24. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  12. ↑ "Nick Halstead Departs BTCC with a Special Fan Tribute". Power Maxed Racing. 2025-10-08. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  13. ↑ "TOCA announces 2026 BTCC calendar". btcc.net. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
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